Iron Ore

Mineralogy, Processing and Environmental Sustainability

Liming Lu, Liming Lu

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781782421597
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Physical & Theoretical Chemistry

Iron Ore: Mineralogy, Processing and Environmental Issues summarizes recent, key research on the characterization of iron ores, including important topics such as beneficiation (separation and refining), agglomeration (e.g., production of pellets or powders), blast furnace technology for smelting, and environmental issues relating to its production.

The text is an ideal reference on the topic during a time when iron ore production has increased significantly, driven by increasing demand from countries such as India and China.

• Provides a comprehensive overview of the global iron ore industry, exploring its characteristics and characterization
• Expert analysis of quality requirements for iron production, iron ore agglomeration technologies, environmental issues, and low-emission technologies
• Timely text to accompany the increased iron ore production occurring in developing countries like India and China

1

Introduction

overview of the global iron ore industry

R.J. Holmes¹; L. Lu^{2 1} CSIRO Mineral Resources Flagship, Clayton South, VIC, Australia
² CSIRO Mineral Resources Flagship, Pullenvale, QLD, Australia

Abstract

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that is vital to the global economy. Its unique combination of strength, formability, versatility, recyclability, and low cost make it an ideal material for the construction industry, shipbuilding, motor vehicle manufacture, railway construction, bridge building, heavy industry, machinery manufacture, and engineering applications. The world's crude steel production has almost doubled since 2000, largely due to the increase in production in China to support the major growth that has occurred over the last decade.

Iron ore is the primary raw material from which metallic iron is extracted to make steel. The rapid increase in crude steel production in the last decade has seen major expansions in world iron ore production from around 1 billion tonnes (Bt) in 2001 to over 2.9 Bt in 2012. China is the largest iron ore-producing country, producing about 1.3 Bt in 2012, which accounts for about 45% of the world's iron ore production, followed by Australia and Brazil with a combined production of 919 million tonnes (Mt) in 2012.

With respect to iron ore imports and exports, China imported about 65% of the world's seaborne iron ore trade in 2013, followed by Japan (11%), Europe (10%), and Korea (6%), which is a clear indication that the Asian countries are driving the international iron ore industry. In terms of tonnages, iron ore imports into China have risen from about 50 Mt/a in 2000 to around 745 Mt/a in 2012, with imports in 2013 being about 820 Mt/a. These imports were largely from Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, and India, the three largest iron ore producers in the world being Vale in Brazil and Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton with operations primarily in Australia. Between them, these companies are responsible for about 61% of the world's seaborne trade in iron ore.

While the iron ore mining industry is sometimes viewed as a simple quarrying operation, the industry is fiercely competitive internationally and is under considerable pressure at present to reduce costs due to the recent major fall in iron ore prices. Consequently, the level of technology adopted by the industry is high and often quite advanced. However, despite these developments, substantial challenges still face the international iron ore industry over the next 10–20 years as reserves of high-grade ore around the world continue to fall and alternative ore types need to be developed to replace them, including progressively lower-grade hematite/goethite ores, magnetite ores, and polymetallic ores such as those currently being exploited in China that are low in grade, complex in mineralogy, and fine in grain. These ores will increasingly require crushing and grinding to liberate the valuable minerals followed by concentration processes such as gravity separation, magnetic separation, flotation, leaching, and bioprocessing to produce high-grade products suitable for subsequent downstream processing. Consequently, there will be a continuous need to improve grinding and separation efficiencies to maximize productivity and reduce production costs, as well as reduce the production of waste products, water consumption, greenhouse and other gaseous emissions, and overall environmental impact.

The recent unprecedented expansion of th...